1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the synthesis of amino-acid based polymers. In particular, this invention relates to methods and compositions for the synthesis of amino-acid based polymers using catalysts under “living” conditions, that is conditions free of termination and chain transfer.
2. Description of Related Art
Synthetic polypeptides have a number of advantages over peptides produced in biological systems and have been used to make fundamental contributions to both the physical chemistry of macromolecules and the analysis of protein structures. See e.g. G. D. Fasman, Poly a-Amino Acids, Dekker, New York, (1967). Moreover, synthetic peptides are both more cost efficient and can possess a greater range of material properties than peptides produced in biological systems.
Small synthetic peptide sequences, typically less than 100 residues in length, are conventionally prepared using stepwise solid-phase synthesis. Such solid phase synthesis makes use of an insoluble resin support for a growing oligomer. A sequence of subunits, destined to comprise a desired polymer, are reacted together in sequence on the support. A terminal amino acid is attached to the solid support in an initial reaction, either directly or through a keying agent. The terminal residue is reacted, in sequence, with a series of further residues such as amino acids or blocked amino acid moieties to yield a growing oligomer attached to the solid support through the terminal residue. At each stage in the synthetic scheme, unreacted reactant materials are washed out or otherwise removed from contact with the solid phase. The cycle is continued with a pre-selected sequence of residues until the desired polymer has been completely synthesized, but remains attached to the solid support. The polymer is then cleaved from the solid support and purified for use. The foregoing general synthetic scheme was developed by R. B. Merrifield for use in the preparation of certain peptides. See e.g. See Merrifield's Nobel Prize Lecture “Solid Phase Synthesis”, Science, Volume 232, pp. 341-347 (1986).
A major disadvantage of conventional solid phase synthetic methods for the preparation of oligomeric materials results from the fact that the reactions involved in the scheme are imperfect; no reaction proceeds to 100% completion. As each new subunit is added to the growing oligomeric chain a small, but measurable, proportion of the desired reaction fails to take place. The result of this is a series of peptides, nucleotides, or other oligomers having deletions in their sequence. The result of the foregoing imperfection in the synthetic scheme is that as desired chain length increases, the effective yield of desired product decreases drastically, since increased chances for deletion occur. Similar considerations attend other types of unwanted reactions, such as those resulting from imperfect blocking, side reactions, and the like. Of equal, if not greater, significance, is the fact that the increasing numbers of undesired polymeric species which result from the failed individual reactions produce grave difficulties in purification. For example, if a polypeptide is desired having 100 amino acid residues, there may be as many as 99 separate peptides having one deleted amino acid residue and an even greater possible number of undesired polymers having two or more deleted residues, side reaction products and the like.
Due to the above-mentioned problems associated with solid phase methodologies, practitioners employ other protocols for peptide synthesis. For example, synthetic copolymers of narrow molecular weight distribution, controlled molecular weight, and with block and star architectures can be prepared using so called living polymerization techniques. See e.g. O. Webster, Science, 251:887-893 (1991). In these polymerizations, chains grow linearly by consecutive addition of monomers, and chain-breaking transfer and termination reactions are absent. The active end-groups of growing polymer chains do not deactivate (i.e. they remain “living”) and chains continue to grow as long as monomer is present. Chain length in living polymerizations is controlled through adjustment of monomer to initiator stoichiometry. Under circumstances when all chains grow at the same rate, living polymers will possess a narrow distribution of chain lengths. Complex sequences, such as block copolymers, are then built up by stepwise addition of different monomers to the growing chains. A. Noshay, et al., Block Copolymers, Academic Press, New York, (1977).
The chemical synthesis of high molecular weight polypeptides is most directly accomplished by the ring-opening polymerization of α-aminoacid-N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) monomers (see equation 1 below). See e.g. H. R. Kricheldorf, in Models of Biopolymers by Ring-Opening Polymerization, Penczek, S. Ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, (1990). In general terms, NCA polymerizations can be classified into two categories based on the type of initiator used: either a nucleophile (typically a primary amine) or strong base (typically a sodium alkoxide) (see equation 1 below). Nucleophile initiated polymerizations are believed to propagate through a primary amine end-group (see equation 2 below). These polymerizations display complicated kinetics where an initial slow first order process is followed by accelerated monomer consumption: indicative of multiple propagating species with different reactivities. See e.g. M. Idelson, et al., J. Am. Chem Soc., 80:2387-2393 (1958). The prevalence of side reactions limit these initiators to the formation of low molecular weight polymers (10 kDa<Mn<50 kDa) which typically contain a substantial fraction of molecules with degree of polymerization less than 10. As such, the polymers have very broad molecular weight distributions (Mw/Mn=4-10). See e.g. R. D. Lundberg, et al., J. Am. Chem Soc., 79:3961-3972 (1957).

Strong base initiated NCA polymerizations are much faster than amine initiated reactions. These polymerizations are poorly understood but are believed to propagate through either NCA anion or carbamate reactive species (see equations 3 and 4 below, respectively). See e.g. C. H. Bamford, et al., Synthetic Polypeptides, Academic Press, New York, (1956).

A significant limitation of NCA polymerizations employing conventional initiators is due to the fact that they are plagued by chain-breaking transfer and termination reactions which prevent formation of block copolymers. See e.g. H. R. Kricheldorf, a-Aminoacid-N-Carboxyanhydrides and Related Materials, Springer-Verlag, New York, (1987). Consequently, the mechanisms of NCA polymerization have been under intensive study so that problematic side reactions could be eliminated. See e.g. H. R. Kricheldorf, in Models of Biopolymers by Ring-Opening Polymerization, Penczek, S. Ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, (1990). These investigations have been severely hindered by the complexity of the polymerizations, which can proceed through multiple pathways. Moreover, the high sensitivity of NCA polymerizations to reaction conditions and impurities has also led to contradictory data in the literature resulting in controversy over the different hypothetical mechanisms. H. Sekiguchi, Pure and Appl. Chem., 53:1689-1714 (1981); H. Sekiguchi, et al., J. Poly. Sci. Symp., 52:157-171 (1975).
The significant problems with existing peptide synthesis methodologies create a variety of problems for practitioners. For example, the chain breaking transfer reactions that occur in the NCA polymerzations preclude the systematic control of peptide molecular weight. Moreover, block copolymers cannot be prepared using such methods.
Block copolymers of amino acids have been less well studied, largely because our synthetic methods do not yet have fine enough control to produce well-defined structures. F. Cardinauz, et al., Biopolymers, 16:2005-2028 (1977). The same is true of the synthesis of block copolypeptides for use as biomaterials or as selective membranes—the potential advantages of the protein-like architectures have remained unrealized for want of adequate synthetic building blocks and tools.
For example, biomedical applications, such as drug delivery typically require water-soluble components to enhance their ability for circulation in vivo. The problem with common water-soluble polypeptides (e.g., poly-L-lysine and poly-L-aspartate) is that they are polyelectrolytes that display pH-dependent solubility and limited circulation lifetime due to aggregation with oppositely charged biopolymers. Nonionic, water-soluble polypeptides are desired for biomedical applications since they avoid these problems, and can also display the stable secondary structures of proteins that influence biological properties. However, all high molecular weight nonionic homopolypeptides (>25 residues) derived from naturally occurring amino acids are notoriously insoluble in water.
One approach to producing nonionic water-soluble polypeptides employs polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is typically grafted onto polypeptides or other polymers to improve their properties in vivo. PEG is nonionic, water-soluble, and most importantly not recognized by immune systems. It is believed that PEG imparts biocompatibility through formation of a hydrated “steric barrier” at the surface of material that cannot be penetrated or recognized by biological molecules, such as proteolytic enzymes. As such, block or graft copolymer drug carriers containing PEG are able to circulate for long periods in the bloodstream without degradation.
Despite its attractive properties, a drawback to grafting PEG onto polypeptides is the need for expensive amino- or carboxylato—functionalized molecules for coupling, which typically must be short (<5,000 Da) to ensure high functionalization. Accordingly, there remains considerable interest in developing alternative methods for producing nonionic water-soluble polypeptide building blocks that also incorporate the attractive properties of biochemical stability, self-assembly and water solubility into polypeptides.
Polypeptides are being considered for a variety of biomedical problems such as tissue engineering and drug delivery. Another consideration for these applications is the incorporation of endgroup functionality onto the chains, which is essential for targeting of the drug delivery complexes as well as substrate specific anchoring of these materials. These, and other features would be useful for controlling both the structure and the properties of polypeptide materials. Consequently, there is a need for novel methods and compositions which allow for the facile generation of peptides tailored to have specific desirable properties.